Poured clear amber, with a moderate sized sticky head
Aroma: little malt & some grainy scents.
Taste: bland and watery, butterscotch and the other malt tastes are vaguely syrupy, though thin mouthfeel, little aftertaste.
From Baum La Vernia, Tx south of China Grove. I picked up a six of these (Rick got six pack of Busch "tallboys") Decent drinkability. Better than ZiegenBock (382 characters)

If this beer were a mountain, a tree covered jut of rock and dirt, arcing skyward in defiance of gravity and the forces of nature, admired and adored by all humans and animals, then this would only be an average mountain. Maybe 6000-8000 ft. Not one of the towering 14,000 foot mountains, the massive 20,0000 footers or the infamous 29,000 foot Everest. It was a decent beer, plenty drinkable and for sure tasty. However, it was nothing to shout about. (452 characters)

I figured I would review this beer, as it has been a staple of my family and friends for as long as I can remember. For me, it is the best beer to swill from the bottle after a hard day's work out in the country. It has a refreshingly evident malt flavor, and even a bit of hops comes through in the finish. While this can still be classified as mass-produced beer, for the price here in Texas you can't go wrong with stocking a cooler full of Shiner for an outing to the country. (480 characters)

In the land of Bud, Bud Light, Coors, etc., this is a huge improvement from the bland and limited choices. As far as bocks go, this is a weaker entry.

Appearance wise, it's encouraging--it pours a dark amber with a good head and light lace.

The aroma is light malt and is appropriate for the style, nothing special. The taste is similar to the aroma although some hop shows up on the swallow. Decent body, good carbonation, doesn't have the winey alcohol flavors of most bocks. My sample was just starting to skunk (ordered at Prego in Rice Village, Houston) (564 characters)

This was purely an all around average beer. Pours a medium copper color with a medium sized fizzy tan head. Aroma is malty then slightly acidic and then malty again. Roasted grains hold the base of this beer but no other flavors really come out. Slight caramel/toffee sweetness with a mild malt flavoring in the middle. Finish brings a very light dosage of hops and a nice little bit of acidity. Aftertaste is weak though. This beer is average all the way through. (464 characters)

Appearance: Pours a clear copper color. Carbonation seems good. Off-white head is gone in the blink of an eye. Leaves minimal lacing on the glass.

Smell: Very...and I mean very faint aroma of roasted malts and grains.

Taste: Hints of caramel and molasses..roasted malts with an extremely subtle hop flavor..barely noticeable. Fairly weak overall taste. If it had more flavor and a bit more "bite", this beer could have some potential.

Mouthfeel: A bit oily in the mouth. Way too thin for the style..needs some muscle to make this an above average brew.

Drinkability: One of the thinnest bocks I've had, for sure. Could be easily consumed if one were so inclined.

This seems to be Shiner's most well-known beer, but not their best, in my opinion. (760 characters)

Appearance: Brown, slightly reddish when held to a light. Thin off white head quickly settled to nothing.

Smell: Malty, roasted malts giving a mostly chocolaty aroma.

Taste: Slightly sweet, but a good malty sweet, not an adjuct sickly sweet. Taste impressions of caramel and chocolate.

Mouthfeel: A little thin, but close to medium bodied.

Drinkability: A nice little quaffer, that I have purchased more than once. It was hard to keep in stock at the liquor store I used to work at. Transplanted Texans would buy by the case and t was not uncommon to sell 3 or 4 cases a week. A nice beer from Texas, definitely better than most macros, and different than your typical macro. I would recommend at least trying. (722 characters)

The first time I tried this was the weekend of my wedding back in July 2003. A friend brought two cases up from Texas to St. Louis and just raved about how great this tastes. Maybe I had too high expectations from that memory, but it was average at best. No head rentention, very cola colored, no lacing. Rather flat tasting with just a bit of hops to note. (357 characters)

This is a brown brew with some red undertones. Poured a nice head leaving a bit of lacing as I enjoy this brew. Nose is of bread and sweet malts. Taste is pretty much the same with little hop impact. Mouthfeel is somewhat full and lively. Overall drinkability is good. I have always enjoyed this beer and would recommend it. (376 characters)

12 ouncer sampled, no indication of freshness to be found. Poured a medium al mond brown, larger bubbles rising to the top at a seady pace. Malty nose, nutty bready brew. Medium bodied, got alot of maple syrup notes. Prickly carbonation not appreciated. Sharp dry finish. Not the best version of the style, never was crazy about this stuff. (340 characters)

hmmm, i kinda expected more. pours an amber color with a nice 1" head. the head dissipates quickly and leaves very little lacing. smells mostly of malt, hops, corn maybe. the taste is mainly the bitterness of hops with some malt. it seems to be kinda over carbonated which explains the low mouthfeel rating. too many harsh bubbles. i would drink it again but there are MANY others that i would rather have. (406 characters)

Served in the 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass. The color is amber, with a head that's slightly uneven and a bit bubbly. The smell is caramel sweet, just slightly cloying. The taste is barely caramel sweet, with just a touch of a weak hop to it, with a flavor dominated by the pale lager adjunct-ish malt, with aftertaste leaving mostly the pale lager flavor lingering. Mouthfeel is average. As for drinkability, maybe if nothing else was available...

I finally saw the Texas "classic" when I was out shopping in Western Maryland, and decided it was worth giving it a try, even knowing that it's not highly regarded. Well, it's certainly not great, but it beats a macro any day, and though I wouldn't seek it out again, I won't pour it down the drain either. (760 characters)

Poured properly from a bottle with a quickly dissapearing head. Is that skunk or rice that I smell? Either way the smell is a mark against this one. Taste is clean, kinda malty. Not much I can describe about the malt because there's just not a ton of flavor going on here. However, what I can taste is pleasant enough. Okay beer. Meh.

I paid six dollars for this. It's not something I will pay money for again. However I would drink one for free. (449 characters)

Presentation: 12 oz bottle, poured in the correct manner (but in a glass that had come out of the dish washer [i.e., not re-rinsed]). No freshness date. Info about the brewery on the bottle.

Really nice dark amber color. Pretty beer. (I suppose that matters, but I COULD drink with my eyes closed and still enjoy a good beer!) Head is light tan, not very stiff, only about 2 fingers, and faded fast with no lacing at all. In defense of the beer, maybe this was due to the aforementioned condition of the glass.

Smell was a bit skunky, but majored in malt. Not bad, nothin' to write home about.

Taste was not as malty as I figured for a bock. Just strong and heavy. Chocolate in there. Some phenols and burnt biscuits.

Mouthfeel was a bit thinner than I would like.

Can't tell you about drinkability, 'cuz I don't think I'd want more than one.

This is a pretty average beer. If you like a bock, you probably would enoy one or two of these.

Wish somebody would tell us what the ABV is -- it's listed neither on the bottle nor the company's website. Are they trying to hide something here? Like maybe a "3.2 BOCK"?

UPDATE: 10-26-2004 Found the ABV -- it's 4.4%. Thought this one was pretty "lite" for a bock. (1,231 characters)

On draught at Pappadeaux in the Houston airport. Glad to finally find this classic Texan beer. Copper-colored with a thin off-white head. Toasted grain and malt in the nose. Medium-bodied with a flavor somewhere between a Bock and an Adjunct Lager. Malt, stale hops and caramel are what the beer offers. The finish is smooth and does not contain much flavor other than some sweet malt. I cant really call this beer a disappointment because it met my expectations. It does not do the Bock style justice though. (511 characters)

The pour was a dark mahogany/copper red with a one finger head that quickly dissapated and left a thin white lace on top of the beer.

The smell was more like a pilsner skunk than a bock to me. The front was a malt sweetness mixed with a pilsner skunk. The back was more of the same. Don't get me wrong, there really is nothing wrong with that pilsner skunk, I just don't want it in a bock.

The drink started with a flat kick of watery nothing. The middle was a slight malt sweetness. The finish was hoppy and malty.

Nothing really great here, but nothing terrible. This is not a bad beer, but it's a quite expensive mediocre one. (638 characters)

Ok here in minnesota this is hard to come by only like one chain of stores can get it. i desided to try it after my friend talked it up to be the best stuff ever. but i was not impressed it had about the same color as miller altho a little darker and near the same smell and taste. so for my $12 a 6pack i will drink miller (323 characters)

Poured from a 12 oz bottle at the McAllen, TX airport bar. The beer pours with a thin head and a brown to amber color. The head thins out so quickly I barely had time to notice its off-white color. The smell is a sweet malty smell. It is a nice aroma, but there is not much of it even as the beer warms up.

The taste is thin with a bit of malt and diacetyl flavors. Some bread and honey notes as well. Overall though it is not a comples flavor. It is the same beginning to end. In the mouth it is too thin with no significant malt profile. As for its drinkabaility I could see people drinking it everyday if nothing better is around. But it's a weak and uneventful beer no matter if it's in the bottle or on tap. (715 characters)

A nice bronze color with an off white head leaving occasional lacing. Interesting aroma of caramel malt, peppery yeast, and then a grapevine/raison like scent. Clean malty taste, not hoppy or bitter, and then a wine like finish. Good mouthfeel. A nice beer that I'd order again. (278 characters)